Google Research Reveals 7 Secrets of Successful Remote Teams

Building strong relationships in an increasingly virtual workplace

Building strong relationships in an increasingly virtual workplace

Photo by Rajeshwar Bachu on Unsplash

Virtual teams are on the rise. Forty-three percent of the US workforce already report working — at least partially — remotely. According to Buffer, 90 percent plan to continue doing so for the rest of their careers.

Google knows this better than anyone else. 2 in 5 of its teams include Googlers in more than one location. Thirty percent of its meetings involve two or more time zones.

It’s no surprise that the tech giant embarked on a two-year study to discover what makes remote teams successful. Google’s People Innovation Lab surveyed 5,000 employees to measure performance, connectedness, and well-being (among other things).

“We were happy to find no difference in the effectiveness, performance ratings, or promotions for individuals and teams whose work requires collaboration with colleagues around the world versus Googlers who spend most of their day to day working with colleagues in the…